Boy George claims I'm A Celebrity bosses 'manipulate' and hand out extra food
Boy George has revealed some of the secrets behind I’m A Celebrity, claiming that bosses manipulate the contestants so that they follow certain narratives.
In his new book, Karma: My Autobiography, George – who appeared in last year’s series – said celebs were prompted to quiz fellow campmates about personal subjects with “planted questions”.
The 62-year-old Culture Club star said scenes mocking former Health Secretary Matt Hancock were cut, possibly because ITV bosses wanted him to win. And he said the drinking water in camp is “hideous”, while some contestants had extra food given to them when they were struggling.
Singing sensation Boy George has spilled some I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! secrets (James Gourley/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)George, whose real name is George O’Dowd, talks at length about the show in a chapter called Jungle Is Massive. The singer said he was left feeling emotional after being quizzed by fellow contestant Scarlette Douglas. But he believes that, when speaking in the Bush Telegraph, ITV got her to try to push topics of conversation.
He explained: “Scarlette upset me when she asked about my court case and prison. The question was casually and thoughtlessly posed out of the blue interrupting a terse conversation between me and Matt (Hancock).
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“At the time it felt like she had been told to ask the question. She had no idea of the facts and it upset me. ITV will insist they do not instruct conversations but they plant questions in people’s minds. I was even asked to talk to Jill (Scott) about being gay.”
Turning to discuss shamed former Health Secretary Hancock, George also told how he felt ITV was keen on him to win – even editing out sections of the camp comedy in which he was being mocked. George explained: “
Sue Cleaver used to serenade Matt in the voice of Margaret Thatcher singing I Will Survive. In the voice of Maggie! It was TV gold but, like so many hilarious moments, it was never broadcast.
George appeared in the jungle last year alongside Matt Hancock (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)“I thought ITV would’ve secretly loved a Matt win. Some campmates and their families at the hotel, I later found out, were speculating that Matt must have a team of professional bots working around the clock voting for him. I laughed at this because it really didn’t matter.
“Once you walk across the bridge and out of camp you realise just how easy leaving would’ve been. I was the fourth out of the 11 to be voted out. Was I disappointed not to have got further? No. It was a blessed relief. I was paid well for my dues.”
George said there was no luxury in the outback camp, in New South Wales, and conditions were worse than he had expected. He said: “The water situation was hideous. They make you collect water from a pump which you must carry up the hill in a bucket and boil on the wood fire.”
He added: “When you went for trials they would give you bottles of water or would let you drink from water coolers. Later they tried to stop it and I said, ‘Give me the water or I’m just not going to go on set’.”
And he said there was no special treatment inside the camp: “I heard that on Big Brother there are hairdressers and make-up artists in the next room. Not the case on I’m a Celebrity. You go in thinking there will be coffee breaks, but there are not.”
Sue Cleaver, Mike Tindall and Boy George became close in the Aussie jungle (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)However Olivia Attwood, who was quit on medical grounds after two days, did get special treatment in an apparent bid to keep her strength up.
George said: “I saw security give Olivia some food. I thought it was a choc ice at first and was a bit jealous, before I discovered Olivia was feeling unwell and needed a sugar pick up. It was a protein bar. We were only on day two and Olivia was being monitored carefully.”
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George never seemed overly happy on the show. He said at times he sat blindfolded in a car for hours with security guards who refused to chat. But he admits in his book that he did it for the money, having been paid a reported £500,000. He wrote: “I got paid well to do it and I can’t pretend that wasn’t another good reason.
“With [Culture Club drummer] Jon Moss and his money-sucking lawsuit breathing down my neck I felt like it was a gig I couldn’t turn down.”
Karma: My Autobiography by Boy George, published by Blink Publishing, is out now.
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